Raise more with PR: Why all Startups need a Strong PR Strategy

Three social scientists no one had ever heard of published The Retirement Maze, which highlighted that retirement basically sucks. 60-year-old retirees are more depressed, have less sex, and don’t relate as well to others as 60-year-old workers.

The information was compelling, the book was flawlessly written, but who were these guys? One of them was the subject of the book. Dr. Rob Pascale was the all-American success story, building a company from zero to the stratosphere over 25 years, and then retiring a multi-millionaire at the age of 51. What could be better?

According to Dr. Pascale, as he sat at a bar drinking a martini with a lot of olives, ‘nobody has it better than me,’ but he was depressed to no end, leading him to spearhead and fund his own research into the social aspects of retirement. The result was The Retirement Maze, the only book of its kind.

A Story Needs Cash to Fuel it

Dr. Pascale’s book has a story, just as Twitter, Facebook, and Cannabis Solutions does, but the story alone will not get your company, book, or band to the top of the charts.

You need a strategy, and that strategy usually comes from a skilled PR team that costs money. This is why Demi Lovato is always coming up with all kinds of weird things about herself, despite being only in her early 20’s. She’ll say that she’s been through so much, and that the reason she sang “Let it go,” for the movie Frozen was because she could relate to the lyrics (as could every toddler, according to the many many YouTube videos of them belting out the song).

The story matters, though, and Ms. Lovato knows that the anecdote – true or not – is what she needs to feed to the DJ so that he can segue from the bit about her into the song so that listeners will be engaged.

How to Raise PR Funds

The source of your funds is the result of your personal holdings and what you are willing to forfeit in control. If you don’t mind sharing control, then you can easily welcome funds from outside sources. This also allows you to reach more people faster.

If you have money and your start-up is less likely to succeed, then you can self-fund the venture. However, most have already poured their capital into the project and need more money. This means you need to appeal to venture capitalists. This includes amateur investors as well as large hedge funds.

In conclusion, your business needs what Dr. Pascale’s book had. A story and cash to get it out there. It’s the reason people donate money to the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, and it’s also why there was a surge inFacebook sign-ups after the “The Social Network” came out.

Without these elements, you won’t get anywhere.

A Last Note: Why Does PR Raise More Funds?

The major reason PR raises more money for your company is that along with getting your message out in a more skilled manner (depth), it also reaches more people (breadth).

The truth is that you don’t really know who will be open to investing in your company. By lacking an effective delivery you will be self-rejecting your idea. On top of this, by reaching out to less people, not more, you are going against the old wisdom that you cannot make a shot you don’t take.

Examples include a liberal author getting interviewed by Bill O’Reilly. While O’Reilly will shred the author and his/her message, there will also be an increase in sales due to increased exposure. The same goes for an entrepreneur reaching out to various types of investors.